Yeay, alhamdulillah, this one will be the final part of my WEMW travelogue. :)
 |
| The best part of road trip... stamps on the passport! |
We left Istanbul, still with no idea how the highways in Turkey work (I mean how to pay the toll). Although we had few challenges entering Turkey, alhamdulillah the return journey was okay. Custom officers let us go without any inspections. Well, they already have all data in the systems, why should they stop us at the border... we were leaving anyway.
 |
| Resting at the R&R, have I told you that most petrol stations provide free WiFi? |
Just, the funny part of entering Bulgaria at this border point (Turkey-Bulgaria) was when we need to get our car disinfected. I was not sure for what reason but after returning home, I found out it was for Food & Mouth Disease (FMD). Hmm, but still... why to the car?
It was not for free though. -_-'
Entering Romania again, via Giurgiu-Rousse Friendship Bridge.
Romania was very beautiful, especially at the countryside. Unfortunately, we always driving through this country when it was approaching night time. Mountains along the way, lakes as well (we could just see reflections of moon on the water). Just, there were not much of highways, so, expect to drive on one lane road for each direction.
Keep patience when there will be lots of lorries in front of the car and you will be scared to cross them. T_T
 |
| Countryside of Romania. |
 |
| Sunset in Romania. |
 |
| Beautiful view! |
We were on the road for the whole night, taking turns to drive. But, somewhere we felt something wrong with the car. T_T
Flat tire.
We know the theory of changing flat tire but... haha we did not want to risk our life doing so in the middle of the night out of nowhere. So, we decided to stop at the next petrol station and requested the worker there to help. He was nice to change for free :)
The bad part was, the extra tire was in the boot... with all our stuffs ON TOP OF IT. Imagine the situation when we need to unload our stuffs to take the extra tire and all equipment needed. I still remember it was very cold!
 |
| Buda Castle, I think. |
Crossing the border of Romania-Hungary was another funny experience. (I hope I remember correctly haha)
The car queue at the customs was quite long, so the driver (I am not sure was it me or Azila) tried her best to keep awake. Suddenly someone honked at us. It woke everyone up to see there was no more queue there!
Our car was in the middle of the road in front of customs and everyone was asleep!
-_-' heeee
 |
| The funicular. |
Arrived Budapest early morning, I think just before sunrise. If you are wondering where did we pray along the journey... sometimes we took turn to pray outside at the petrol stations, but when it was really cold we prayed in the car.
We parked the car somewhere close to the funicular and walked around the city. I will not share much about Budapest in this post, as I have been there before... in 2012.
If maybe you want to read more about this classical city, refer these link. :)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - PART 1
 |
| View of Chain Bridge from the funicular. |
We had our lunch at a seafood restaurant in Pest.
Important things to remember when you want to park your car in Europe:
- Make sure it is NOT parking area for residents. For most buildings in Europe, there are flats on the first floor upwards so some people already pay for their own parking spots (just avoid the spots with plate numbers).
- Make sure you pay the parking fee (if it is stated there)
- Make sure your valuable items are stored safely, even it is just the GPS.
 |
| Our #4000kmroadtrip |
This map marks the end of my road trip travelogue with my amazing friends. Really, if we want to get to know someone, travel together. We will see how we react through thick and thin of the trip.
Yes, I have LOTSSS of weaknesses / bad habits / annoying attitudes that I only realized after travelling with other people.
Consider travelling as a way to get to know ourselves as well. :)
Self-reflection, yea?
HK, Czech
170503
[Roadtrip] WEMW : Istanbul, Turkey - Part 3
May 2, 2017
My travelogues always stop abruptly. T_T
But, I am trying to clean my draft by publishing any posts that look complete (haha maybe). So, here you go... a continuation of our very first road trip from Hradec Kralove, Czech to Istanbul, Turkey with a total journey of approximately 4000km.
The journey covers many countries, roughly the routes were like this.
- Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Budapest, Hungary
- Bucharest, Romania
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Istanbul, Turkey
It was from January 2015 though.
[ROADTRIP] WHERE EAST MEETS WEST
[ROADTRIP] WHERE EAST MEETS WEST - PART 1
[ROADTRIP] WHERE EAST MEETS WEST - PART 2
[ROADTRIP] WHERE EAST MEETS WEST - PART 3
[ROADTRIP] WEMW : ISTANBUL, TURKEY - PART 1
------------------------
The 2nd day in Istanbul was smooth :) The day started with freshly squeezed juices - pomegranate and orange. This squeezer was sold in many markets around here, so if you would love to buy one, just ask around.
 |
| Pomegranate |
Since we were going to leave Istanbul that night, we need to check out from the apartment. We discussed on how were we going to spend the day - either walking, or by public transportation or by car. If by car, where should we park it?
Fortunately, the owner of the apartment allowed us to keep our stuffs there while we can just explore Istanbul without having to worry about our bags. About the car, after checking its safety, 2 Turkish men ensured us that we didn't need for the parking, although it was already 2nd of January. Alhamdulillah.
On our way to the next attraction (Hagia Sophia), we once again walked passing Blue Mosque and Hippodrome of Constantinople.
Hippodrome - Sultan Ahmet Square.
 |
| Serpent Column |
The Hippodrome is basically an area for horse racing between political parties that day. In the square, you can see quite a number of statues or monuments - preserved for history. Most of them were brought to this Hippodrome to introduce Constantinople as a capital city.
- Serpent Column - the significant of this monument is the victory of Greeks in Persian Wars. It was originally located in Delphi, Greece.
- Obelisk of Thutmose - this one was from Egypt and brought to Hippodrome by another emperor. It weighed about 200 tonnes and I heard they took about 21 days to lift it up!
- German Fountain - it was built to acknowledge the visit of German Emperor to Istanbul. It was brought from German by pieces was a source of water for the people, that is why we can see water taps there. It is still functioning but my tour guide said it is not drinkable. Visitors can also see signatures between Germany and Turkey at the fountain.
Okay, let's continue with Hagia Sophia.
 |
| From outside. |
Hagia / haya means divine, while Sofia means intelligence. This Greek name simply means goddess of intelligence. The first construction was when Christian conquered this city, then took over by Ottoman Empire.
 |
| The drawing of Mary in the middle. |
When Islam came, Muslims covered most drawings on the wall with plasters to avoid Muslims from worshiping the statues. But, after this place was decided to be opened to public, workers currently are still on their way to uncover back to show to people the beauty of this place, as a museum. It was opened to public in 1985.
 |
| Islamic style on the wooden wall. |
In Hagia Sophia, we can see this building is facing Jerusalem. So, a mihrab was built to face Makkah instead. If you have been here, you can see the name Allah, Muhammad, the 4 caliphs, Hasan and Husin hanged on the wall. They were made in Hagia Sophia itself as the sizes were too big.
 |
| I am not sure about this wall. |
Done with Hagia Sophia, we went for lunch, so hungry! We didn't really check beforehand about places to eat. So, while walking towards Spice Bazaar (I think), we just chose any restaurant that looked interesting.
 |
| Pehlivan - two storey restaurants |
 |
| It served dishes like this. You can choose any cooked meal you want. |
Grand Bazaar.
Can't help with the direction and how to get there although I went there once again last year -_-'
 |
| Spice Bazaar. I hope I remember correctly, a bit confused if we went to this one or Grand Bazaar. |
 |
| Pashmina shopping. |
Finally, it was time to leave. We returned to the apartment to take our luggage and reorganize stuffs in the car.
 |
| Final result. :) |
I think I have shared the video for this road trip somewhere in this blog. But, never mind, since this was one of our greatest life achievement, let me embedded it once again. Thanks Maryam for this beautiful video!
p/s - one more post and I think I am done with WEMW roadtrip. Yeay!
HK, Czech
170502
Czech's Day of Love
May 1, 2017
Other than International Labour Day, Czechs celebrate love on 1st of May.
 |
| Self-love. :D Haha |
Wow, I totally have no idea that Czech has so many traditions and actually I am not sure if people really celebrate today as Day of Love. But, from what I read, the Day of Love in Czech was introduced earlier than the famous Valentine's Day. This country is a bit beyond our imagination and Malaysians always remember it as Czechoslovakia (still) in which they have peacefully separated on 1st January 1993.
Okay, back to the topic. In Czech, there is a romantic poet named Karel Hynek Mácha who wrote Máj (May), a famous poem among Czechs. This one is the English translation anyway.
It was late evening, on the first of May,
The eve of May was the time of love.
The turtle-dove´s voice called to love,
Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.
There are few customs / traditions / events on this day that MAYBE some Czechs still do them.
1. There is Karel Hynek Mácha's statue on Pet?ín Hill and some lovers will kiss in front of the statue with belief that their love will be as strong as the stone. -_-'
2. Lovers will kiss under a blooming cherry tree or birch. But the legend is a bit awkward to think about... that if a girl is not kissed, she will wither and die in twelve months. HAHA. Many people survived I guess.
3. Some villagers erect maypoles and they need to protect the maypoles from being stolen by other neighborhoods' villagers. This is my first time to come across the word 'maypoles'.
 |
| Source - Wikimedia |
4. The last tradition is, there is Majáles, an event celebrated by students in cities. Majáles today is more about a festival with musics and some other competitions. I don't know much, just don't want to get involved. These people can get wild most of the times in these kind of events -_-'
Well, I am sharing this here not because I believe or I celebrate it, just for general knowledge yea. Anyway, happy holiday today!
Reference:
HK, Czech
170501
I Am So In Love With You, Moana
April 30, 2017
I've been growing up with Disney, Pixar etc that got along in few phases in my life. Didn't watch all of them and I simply could not recall most movies but one that is very significant to me is Mulan. She is honestly a character that I love so much.
End of November, people keep sharing about Moana and all controversies and conspiracies of the movie. Lol. Tinggi sangat imaginasi masing-masing. I was in Malaysia end of last year but I didn't have the chance to watch the movie at the cinema. So, here I am, watching Moana after months it has been been released. :)
I knew it that I will love this movie as much as I love Mulan!
For those who have not watch Moana yet, let me share a brief synopsis.
Moana is a daughter of a village chief and she is going to be a leader to her people very soon. They live on an island where Moana is always attracted to the sea since she was a small kid but her intention is always opposed by her father who cares for her safety. Until one day, she is finally crossing the sea to find ways to help her island that is attacked by blight. She meets Maui, a sea demigod who finally helps her to fulfill her task.
Well, as usual, I will always try to learn something from any videos that I watched. Hehe. Here are few things I would love to share with you guys. :)
1. Reflecting who we are.
In this movie, Grandma Tala plays a great role to make Moana realized her true potential and who she really is. Being one of the elders, she knows well about the history of the village and delivers it to the children (although it may looks like folk stories). But, Moana is the one who finds the story to be so real and interesting.
Once we know our history, we will know how great we used to be.
Few years ago, I was exposed with the history of Islam (though I am quite bad with history and figures and names and so on haih), but this one that I've learned gave me sparks on how Islam and Muslims were so amazing one time ago. We used to rule at lead 2/3 of the world, with great names like Khalid al-Walid, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi, Sultan Fateh.
They were great warriors!
2. Be thankful and grateful with all blessings.
Maui is a wind and sea demigod. Demigods are usually claimed by Roman emperors like the one in Percy Jackson.
So what can I say except "You're welcome"
For the tide, the sun, the sky - Maui
Ignore the demigod parts but try to look from the perspectives of humans.
We tend to forget and not acknowledge all things that God has created for us. Ourselves, family, shelters, food, animals and so on. We keep on asking for things that we want but not really saying thank you for all the things we are already given.
3. Keep going!There will never be at least once in our life that we feel like we are giving up to do something. I can't count how many times I feel like packing my stuffs and quit doing what I am doing right now. Things are getting harder but with hardships, our hearts are actually going stronger. Hopefully.
If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me,
One day I'll know,
If I go, there's just no telling how far I'll go. - Moana
But, somehow, along the way we may find out we are not actually doing things that we really want. Things change over time, people as well. Not to forget, our preferences. So, think wisely before taking any big leap to change our way, or to stay, or to leave everything that we have done behind to start a new life.
But the voice inside sings a different song,
What is wrong with me? - Moana
Our choice. But think about the consequences. If we are willing to take the challenges, go on. Do anything that suits us.
4. You can find happiness right where you are.
I am speechless actually to elaborate this. Sometimes, happiness comes in a way we don't even expect.
A simple 'Hi. How are you?' can makes my day. A happy gesture from other people can make me smile. Reading emotional posts can lead me to happiness tears.
It depends on us on how we perceive happiness. Personally, I try to be happy in anything I do - to see how it can benefits me, either physically or spiritually, no matter what the things are. Of course, with some complaints in the beginning. T_T My weakness.
There comes a day when you're gonna look around
and realize happiness is where you are. - Chief Tui & Sina
Always look for the bright side. Enjoy the current moment.
5. It is time to go home.
Moana does things for her people. She sails across the ocean to help her village. I can see myself in her. Maybe not literally sailing with all those sea creatures. But.... I think you know what I mean. ;)
We keep our island in our mind,
And when it's time to find home,
We know the way. - The Voyagers
Maryam shared the link with me to watch Moana online. So, let me share with you guys. Enjoy!
Have a nice day!
HK, Czech
170430
Goodbye Spotify Premium
April 28, 2017
Spotify has been a good friend to me since... I can't remember, more than a year maybe.
€0.99 for 3 months of Spotify Premium
For New Year promotion, Spotify offered that price. It was more cheaper to pay in Ringgit Malaysia, but there was some problem with my Malaysia Internet banking that time, I ended up paying with my debit card in Czech.
To be honest, I have no clue the difference between credit and debit card. As I thought my cards in Czech are debit cards, so far I don't encounter any problems paying anything that only accept credit cards. So, it is okayyy I guess, I am going to close the account here soon anyway.
 |
| Credit to the owner |
I totally love Spotify Premium. There are no other reasons than I can't afford it at €5.99 monthly. Haha. Cheapskate.
These are what Spotify offer with Premium and from my experience using it for 4 months I can say that Premium. Is. Awesome!
- Random play (means unlimited skips, replay any songs)
- No ads (well, YouTube has ads as well right -_-)
- Listen offline (good one as I always listen to songs when jogging)
- High sound quality (the audio is consistent compared to random downloaded songs)
 |
| Goodbye, I am going to miss you offline T_T |
I've been moving around so much the past 4 months (other than hibernating at home for exam periods). Spotify Premium has done a good role to keep me accompanied through out the journeys. Ahh T_T
I just realised there is an offer for students at €2.99/month. Should I?
Hahaha.
I wish Spotify reintroduce the lyrics feature again.
HK, Czech
170428
To Commemorate Isra Mi'raj
April 24, 2017
Naa, I am not going to write much. But, I guess other than talking to family and friends, this blog is a good place to rant my heart out. Well... not that all out. I kept many things to myself :) Yes, of course sharing with Allah in prayers is the ultimate way. ^_^
It is Isra Mi'raj today!
A day I totally did not realised until I saw this hashtag became trending (my own tailored trends) on Twitter. :)
Anyway, I posted a blog post about what can we learn from Isra Mi'raj about a year ago, if you would love to read, do check this link out.
http://www.www-674555.com/2016/05/belajar-dari-peristiwa-isra-mikraj.html
But no worries, I will share points on the life lessons from this event here, in this post. The previous post was in Malay, anyway :D
 |
| May Allah bless the owner of this graphic :) |
Salam Isra Mi'raj everyone!
1438H/2017M
Hope you guys have a great day today... it is holiday, anyway. Hehe.
HK, Czech
170424
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
